In my view, ‘Dark’, a Netflix original, is an experience. You might narrate it differently than I would, but we can agree we all would want to tell this story to our friends, colleagues, or relatives, don’t we? So, in this article I am not going to put my views on the story structure, but I am writing my observations on the series structure. Besides, the story of ‘Dark’ is about so many things but what I really feel is that the story is about a boy and a girl striving to be in a relationship time after time only to learn they are not meant to be together!
When I was 5, I would not sleep without hearing a bedtime story. My mom loved to tell me stories but as it became a routine, she told my dad that he should tell stories on the odd days and she would tell on the even. My dad told me a science fiction story by a renounced Marathi author Jayant Naralikar. It was a story of an astronaut who met his friend one evening. His friend had a four years old daughter who said she would one day marry the astronaut. Everyone laughed at her innocence. But she stared in his eyes and said- “Hey, I mean it!” Later, the 32-year-old astronaut went into space, where he survived an intergalactic fight, where time froze and returned as a 32-year-old man years later when his friend’s daughter was 30! They met as two individuals in a restaurant. He obviously did not recognize her, but when they fall in love and got married, she looked in his eyes and said- “Remember, I knew I would marry you!”
I loved the explanation my dad gave when I asked him - What is frozen time? How does time freeze? Does that mean I will have to be in school forever if time freezes? My dad is not a scientist so he explained me the way any common man would, but I was fascinated with the idea of frozen time. Later I read many time-travel stories in Marathi as well as English literature. Watched many films including 2001 a space odyssey, Interstellar, Blade Runner (the original), Arrival, Back to the future, and now- Dark, which is a series. In my observation the time travel stories work the best when the stakes continue to rise in the relationships that people strive to maintain. People don’t go to theaters OR people don’t join a steaming platform to watch an intellectual, fact-oriented film based on science of time and physics. (unless you have a taste for documentaries, but I am discussing fiction.) People watch movies and series to enjoy! Now they might end up complimenting the film as a genius, intelligent, or outstanding, but that is because they connected emotionally to the film or the series.
Now ‘Dark’ has set that bar high up! High in terms of storytelling. The show creators have successfully spotted the golden middle that exists between science and story. A bad show would have been the one where I would ask google whether this is possible or not, but in case of ‘Dark’ I do not care whether it is real or pure fiction because I love every single minute I am spending. Intellectual ideas or intriguing scientific facts work best when they work as an obstacle or a solution for character’s goal. Intellect meeting emotion is a perfect match! Some more directors who always use this formula are – Alfred Hitchcock, Christopher Nolan, and Dennis Villeneuve. (Even Ridley Scott, but I have not seen all his work yet!)
Jonas is the first person who is aware about the fact that there is something wrong in Winden. In the first (or second) episode of first season, when Mikkel goes missing, Ulrich’s mother says that even Ulrich’s brother disappeared the same way, 33 years ago! Ulrich does not believe her. The characters encounter the pattern, but none of them sees it. On the other hand, we – the audiences are aware about it much before than the characters. And if you observe carefully, not a lot shows make their audience feel special. This is what fascinates us. Remember when Ulrich goes back it time and wants to hurt young Helge as he thinks finishing Helge is going to help him find Mikkel? The stakes continue to rise, and they incline when Charlotte finds in an old newspaper that it was Ulrich who attempted to kidnap young Helge! It is impossible that Ulrich existed with a mug shot in 1922 (or during that time.)
With the impressive ending of the first season, the second season did become a little slow. I especially find it terrible that each episode in the second season had a predictable beginning, middle and end. I am not referring that in terms of story’s beginning, middle and end, but of that episode’s! But apart from these two constrains, the second season also unfold much more information. While the second season wasn’t better than the first, it was as good as the first one; and that itself is a great achievement because we have tons of examples of sequels and seconds seasons ruining everything the first part or the first season built, respectively. While the visual style, song choices, storytelling structure all changed, one thing the writers and the show creator stick to is this thing I am over emphasizing on – Intellect meeting emotion is a perfect match. In other words, giving the audience a bit of what they already know and when they find it familiar, reveal how unique it is and they will absolutely love that.
And so, we come to the third season! Martha says at the end of the second season, “Not which time, but from what world!” We have same characters, but they don’t share the same relationships with each other in this world. Instead of Elisabeth, Francesca is unable to speak. Helge’s eye is defected instead his ear. Ulrich is having an affair with Charlotte instead of Hannah. So, Martha is right, this is a different world, but the creators have carefully maintained and alter the character traits to make sure it’s the same ‘story world’ that we have been watching. And most importantly, it is Martha’s world where Jonas did not exist. Instead Jonas, we have another character that too, if I am wrong, is the son of a truck driver who was the other missing kid in the first season. How beautifully the creators have maintained the pattern of balance! If one character does not exist in one world, it is most likely that they exist in the other one; and that gives me some food for thought as I think if Jonas and Martha cannot be together in one world, can they be in some other world?
If a paradise really existed, I have seen and felt it when I was there with them in Winden! In each world and at every moment. This was probably the best story told by humans on a streaming platform. When I finished watching it, I was crying, and I felt blessed.
Comments